Today's Opinions

Next week, on March 1, we’ll celebrate National Pig Day, also known as Pig Appreciation Day. According to researchers at Holiday Insights, an organization that’s compiled and posted a list of odd events, this observance was created in 1972 by an art teacher named Ellen Stanley. Her intent was to “recognize and be thankful for pigs as intelligent domestic animals.”

I was asked by a shirt-tail relative at a recent family event what my sport was in high school. Asking that question made it very obvious how little he knew me. I was not graced by the gods of athleticism as a child. I have been known to fall off my shoes while standing still and trip over the lines in the linoleum. However, that has never stopped me from being competitive.

I was always going to my mom’s in Arizona to check on her and do any maintenance needed. She lived 65 miles from the nearest town, so I had to haul everything over there like ladders, tools, anticipated supplies, etc. One hot summer day, I decided to clean her gutters in preparation for the monsoon season.

Over the years, I’ve published a few “anonymous” items in a newspaper, but the source was never anonymous to me. I’ve been sticking my neck out for far too long to think that others cannot do the same. But once in a special case comes along. To wit, I offer the following, submitted by a Montgomery County woman.

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Everyone always hears about the jobs that aren’t well done, but the jobs that are well done fade with the morning fog. That’s why I am writing this letter.

Most of us weathered new year 2017-18 with a chill or two and lots of frozen water pipes. I even heard of a water tower freezing solid in Eastern Iowa. Remember though, we live in the Midwest, and never take Iowa for granted, she is unpredictable and she is always full of surprises.

So far this month, we have heard a lot of elected officials, some of the state’s anti-tax organizations, and some of the anti-modern ag groups give their opinions on what needs to happen to either retain, save or grow rural Iowa. The reality is that a lot of those people have never lived in rural Iowa, so they know little about which they speak. It’s time for an honest assessment of rural Iowa, its trend lines, and its potential.

Assumptions

First, let’s agree on some assumptions that are undeniable in terms of long-term trends: